Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/277

Ch. 7. merchants one of the articles of their national liberty .” But indeed it well jutifies another obervation which he has made, “that the Englih know better than any other people upon earth, how to value at the ame time thee three great advantages, religion, liberty, and commerce.” Very different from the genius of the Roman people; who in their manners, their contitution, and even in their laws, treated commerce as a dihonorable employment, and prohibited the exercie thereof to perons of birth, or rank, or fortune : and equally different from the bigotry of the canonits, who looked on trade as inconitent with chritianity , and determined at the council of Melfi, under pope Urban II, A. D. 1090, that it was impoible with a afe concience to exercie any traffic, or follow the profeion of the law.

are the principal prerogatives of the king, repecting this nation’s intercoure with foreign nations; in all of which he is conidered as the delegate or repreentative of his people. But in dometic affairs he is conidered in a great variety of characters, and from thence there aries an abundant number of other prerogatives.

I.&ensp;, he is a contituent part of the upreme legilative power; and, as uch, has the prerogative of rejecting uch proviions in parliament, as he judges improper to be paed. The expediency of which contitution has before been evinced at large. I hall only farther remark, that the king is not bound by any act of parliament, unles he be named therein by pecial and particular words. The mot general words that can be devied (“any peron or perons, bodies politic, or corporate, &c.”) affect not him in the leat, if they may tend to retrain or diminih any of his